Victorian London has been an effective setting since virtually the beginning of cinema, perhaps unsurprisingly since it was during this period that moving pictures first appeared. From the first adaptation of “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” to Basil Rathbone’s incarnation of “Sherlock Holmes,” from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger” to Johnny Depp’s…
The high-octane novelty act that is the boisterous buddy actioner, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, should, by the estimation of studio heads, bring the blistering high-wire shenanigans to shakeup the late August box office blues. The draw — other than the grandstanding of flashy explosions, animated gunplay and calculating car chases — is obviously the rollicking rapport…
The chasm between what parents want for their children and what kids want for themselves is rarely addressed in films, especially in romantic comedies where the focus is primarily on young couples falling in and out of love and then back in again. Of course, we know that parents are usually involved, especially immigrant families…
There are good musical biopics (“Love and Mercy,” “Walk the Line,” “La Bamba,” “Straight Outta Compton”) and there are bad ones (“Jolson Sings Again,” “The Doors,” “Great Balls of Fire!,” “Notorious”), and there are solid, but mediocre presentations like the latest, All Eyez On Me. Directed by Benny Boom (“Next Day Air”), All Eyez On…
London. One of the nerve centers of world government. Home of the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. Home of black cabs and the Tube. Home to a thousand nationalities and one of the most cosmopolitan metropolises in the world. Home of the elastic ruler, the clockwork lamppost and the inflatable knitting…
Is there a specific name or term for a production that compiles stock action scenes from a foreign property and rewrites the context by filling in the gaps with a domestic production? Because between old distribution of kaiju films and the 24 year old series in question, a one-word description would be quite helpful. “Clip…
A B-actioner with grade-A action seems like a cinematic contradiction, but what better way to describe “John Wick” and its sparkling new sequel? The cheesy one-liners, stock villains, thin plot, and characters built entirely on an actor’s presence all put John Wick: Chapter 2 in B-ish territory (an easier place for shoot-em-up pics to find…
